Podcasts about chandoo

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After Running 80KM from Najaf to Karbala for The Hope Appeal, Hajj Arif also decided to Run the London Marathon with the Flag of Imam Hussain through the streets of Central London. We find out about the phenomenal experience, how he prepared himself and how much it has changed his perspective of life. #Marathon #Arbaeen #ImamHussain

Karthikeya is a young and intelligent doctor who believes in science and logic. He has a keen and curious mind and often finds himself in one or another public issue to solve. Due to some circumstances, he had to visit the holy city of Dwaraka, where he got involved in a quest to find the anklet of Lord Krishna, and save it from people who are ready to kill anyone to get possession of the mystic anklet. Please listen to the entire podcast to find out the complete Analysis & Review of the Karthikeya 2. Please subscribe, like and share. If you have any suggestions, follow me on Instagram @anintelligentanalyst and write up. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Beyonce, Prince, Madonna...Like so many of these iconic one word name celebrities in the music world, Chandoo is as unique and talented as they come in the data world!  His story is quite inspiring, his heart and soul are warm, and his brain is brimming with great ideas! All Things Chandoo: Chandoo.Org Chandoo's Youtube Power BI Playdate Budget VS Actual Articles Some Creators and Channels that inspire Chandoo: ElectroBoom Weezy Waiter Hybrid Calisthenics Ali Abdaal  References in this episode: Mike Miskell Tribute To The Wolf Episode Timeline: 4:40 - Chandoo's introduction to Excel was born from necessity (like many of us!), The birth of Chandoo.org (often imitated, never duplicated), and the uniqueness of Chandoo that makes him a huge success 31:50 - Chandoo's Excel Dashboarding is exquisite, his transition to Power BI, and what really matters in one's career 54:10 - Chandoo the Excel celebrity and the Power BI celebrity, Lambda functions, and a curveball question for Chandoo about working for Microsoft 1:06:25 - Chandoo and Rob cross paths, Chandoo's iconic hair, the Game-Changing features of Power BI, and some Power BI hacks 1:33:45 - What's next for Chandoo? Episode Transcript: Rob Collie (00:00:00): Hello friends. Think for a moment about the people that you're aware of, who only go by a single word name. They're usually musicians, Prince, Madonna, Cher, Beyonce. There are a couple of non-musician examples that come to mind like Oprah, for instance. These tend to be celebrities on the world stage. Well, today's guest is the rare exception that pulls that off within the Excel, Power BI, and data community. And I'm talking, of course, about Chandoo. Chandoo is one of the completely original early stage MVP-type celebrities within our community. He blazed a path that now hundreds, if not thousands of people have followed. And sometimes with things like this, it's really that first-mover advantage that really sets someone apart and he did, in fact, have that kind of first-mover advantage. But he is still, to this day, so incredibly unique that I challenge anyone to actually truly duplicate him. Rob Collie (00:01:06): He is legitimately one of a kind. And for me, he's been there literally since the beginning, even physically, since the beginning. He and his family came to live near us in the United States for a summer. That first summer after which I had formed P3 as a company. With someone as gifted as Chandoo, it's always easy and tempting to sort of assume that they've always been doing what they're doing. And he is very gifted, but it's not like those gifts, where always from the beginning, oriented towards something like Excel. Just like many of us, he had to have his collides with moment, the moment where you bounce off of Excel or you stick to it and obviously, he's stuck. So, of course, we go back to and explore that origin story. And also, like many professionals in this space, Chandoo has, over the years, branched out from Excel into Power BI, creating such wonderful offerings like the Power BI Play Date, which we talk about a little bit. Rob Collie (00:02:07): So, we talk about that, what it's like coming from the Excel background and digging into Power BI. He had some unexpected observations there that once I heard them, I was just nodding. "Yep. Yep. That's right." And that conversation also then led to a familiar conclusion that again, I wouldn't have expected from Chandoo, but of course, I should have. And another part of the conversation, we also talked about where he looked for inspiration, where he looked for stimulation and new ideas. It was great to catch up with an old friend, who was also just a wise and dynamic soul. So, without further preamble, let's get into it. Announcer (00:02:48): This is the Raw Data by P3 Adaptive podcast, with your host, Rob Collie and your cohost, Thomas LaRock. Find out what the experts at P3 Adaptive can do for your business. Just go to p3adaptive.com. Raw Data by P3 Adaptive is data with the human element. Rob Collie (00:03:12): Welcome to the show, the one and only Chandoo, how are you? Chandoo (00:03:17): I am doing good, Rob. How are you? Rob Collie (00:03:19): Fantastic. Been looking forward to this for a while. We've been trying to schedule this for probably three or four months now. And here we are like a power reserve. We saved a Chandoo interview very carefully for that six months over the podcast. Actually, how many months are we in now, Luke? Is this our 10th month? Luke (00:03:37): Start on October, early October. Rob Collie (00:03:40): We're potentially in our 10th month. That's what we do. We lose track of time. You're one of the sort of original internet celebrity instructors, often imitated. There's a lot of people who I've seen, sort of explicitly trying to follow in your footsteps and to varying degrees of success. You're not a formula that really others can follow because there really is, and this is awesome to say this. There really is only one you. I've learned that when we actually met. I didn't know that over the internet. How'd you get started on Excel? That was the beginning, right? Chandoo (00:04:22): It's a long story, but that's what we're here for, anyway. Rob Collie (00:04:25): That's right. Chandoo (00:04:26): So, I first remember using Excel all the way back in 2000. There were times before that I used it, but 2003 is the first real moment in my life when I actually used Excel for something. And this is not even to do anything with what I'm doing nowadays with Excel or Power BI. So, the reason why I use it at that point in life is I was preparing for some computer exams. So, I just finished my graduate studies in computer science, and I started working, but simultaneously, I was preparing for some MBA exams. And in India, there is a lot of competition when it comes to getting into a good college for doing your masters. So, they have all these highly competitive exams where sometimes, upwards of 200,000 people will take the exam and just about 500, 600 people will actually be admitted into the college. Rob Collie (00:05:20): Wow. As like a 0.1% acceptance rate. Chandoo (00:05:25): Yeah. You look at the Ivy League and other top university acceptance rates and then, take it to India. Then, it is nowhere near, like you'd be amazed at the craziness that goes on with some of these places. There are a couple of reasons like India has billion people, right? Obviously, there's lots of competition. On top, there were fewer universities at that point of time. The government has added many more now, but still, with our number of people, it is very less compared. So, there is all these factors for that reason. The competition is very high. As part of preparation strategy, everybody would go and take a lot of extra lessons outside just to learn how to prepare for the exam. And then, they'll take these mock examinations sometimes upwards of 25 or 50 in a year just to prepare for the real thing. And there's only one real thing that's a physical thing at that time. Chandoo (00:06:19): So, you can't really make mistakes when the real exam happens, but you have all the luxury of making mistakes in this mock-up stage or that you can learn. And because there is a lot of data coming in from all these exams, right? When I take an exam, there's like 200 questions or 150 questions and I would attempt some. I'll get some right, some wrong. I could use Excel to just keep track of what I'm doing in these exams, what mistakes I'm making, and if I spot a pattern like this automatic question, I'm making the same mistake again and again, then I will change my study of course to plan and address that particular gap or try to change my strategy, so that I won't attempt that area of questions and instead, focus my time on other things. Chandoo (00:07:01): So, that's really when I used Excel and I made this massive spreadsheet just to keep track of what I was doing in those exams. And it kind of really helped me finally get a good grade in that and get into college for my masters. But obviously, you can say Excel is built for anything and everything. So, that was one of the use cases, but I was not really using any of the formulas or none of the power of Excel. And I didn't even know what it is capable of, but that was the one vivid memory of Excel early on. Rob Collie (00:07:35): Do you still have a copy of that spreadsheet somewhere? Chandoo (00:07:38): Many people ask me this. This is simply because back in 2003, 2004, internet is still kind of very nascent in India. It started off as a Yahoo Group. I don't know if you remember, like Yahoo Groups. It's like a collaboration. Rob Collie (00:07:52): I do. Chandoo (00:07:53): But then later on, the forums were a big thing. So, 2003 was the time when in India, we have these preparatory forums where many of us who are all over the country would log in there once in a while, share our stories of how we are preparing, what we are doing, what is going on right, what is going on wrong. So, we could all learn from each other and collaborate, and win this exam. So, I posted a story of how I prepared when I finished the exam and the spreadsheet was part of that story. And then, many people asked us, "Can we get a copy of this?" But in those days, I didn't even have internet at my home. I would go to my workplace to submit something to this forum. So, the spreadsheet was in my home computer and I think I lost it. I don't think I have it anywhere, or it's probably still in my Yahoo Mail. The password of which I no longer remember, or even use. It's gone. Rob Collie (00:08:46): So much of things like that from that era, for me, even though I had great internet at the time, so many of those things are lost because we didn't really have the cloud file storage yet. Today, anything that I ever think is even remotely, possibly valuable, immediately gets saved to Dropbox. I've got terabytes of Dropbox space that I'm never going to ever use in my life. So, everything is saved past a certain point. But before that, it's kind of almost like in geology, it's below this certain rock layer where the earth just kind of ground, everything's gone. So, it makes sense that it's gone. Do you remember how many columns were in that spreadsheet? Roughly, was it question number and right or wrong answer, that kind of thing? Was that what it was? Chandoo (00:09:33): It's not exactly like that. It was not even structured that way because I didn't even know how to use Excel at that point. I think I started off putting stuff in a notepad file or something. And then, I thought, "Man, this sucks because there is no way to visually see or identify things here." So just, I opened an Excel spreadsheet and started putting it there. This is not a podcast on that exam, but that exam used to have like four or five different sections. It is all quite random. You wouldn't believe, there is no set pattern or anything. The number of questions, number of sections, everything could change at any point. Chandoo (00:10:07): There is no official director that these are the things that you would be tested, but the general outline is you would have questions on English, you'd have questions on mathematics. And then, the mathematics itself is split into couple of areas. So, one is arithmetic and then the other is it's called logical reasoning. And then, sometimes, they would further split that into understanding data and graphs and making business decisions from it. So, three or four sections, essentially. So, there's, I think, four big columns. Some of them had further split into multiple columns based on what the heck I was doing. If I think, "Oh, maybe I should keep track of this." Then, I would just put something there and fill some color in there just to remind me what it is. Rob Collie (00:10:51): My daughter is, right now, in the middle of taking the college entrance exams, SAT and ACT here in the United States, and it would never occur to me to spreadsheet. And she's trying to get her scores to a particular level to get to a particular college, right? It takes some effort. It would still never have occurred to me. And now, I'm wondering if it should have. Never have occurred to me to make a spreadsheet, where she's performing well and where some opportunity to raise score. Chandoo (00:11:18): They probably have access to better tools and apps and stuff like that these days. But yeah, a spreadsheet is the original app, I think. Rob Collie (00:11:27): Yeah, it is. It is. I think that necessity is so often the spark. The Olympics just wrapped up. You watch these events where everyone looks like they're doing exactly the same thing. They're using exactly the same form. And then, it's like a couple of millimeters or something that separates the gold medalist from the fifth place. The expert watching says, "Oh, see right here where this person's little toe kind of flaps the wrong way. That was a big mistake." That's what costs them. And it kind of seems like that when there's 200,000 people competing for a few hundred spots. It's like that, right? Like one question is going to drop your rank by potentially thousands of people. Chandoo (00:12:12): Yeah, totally right. Rob Collie (00:12:13): The pressure. Chandoo (00:12:14): There is a lot of pressure and I think, it is probably one of those formative things in my life, too, that having been through that journey. So the exam, I took it during my final year of college because I thought I know why go and work for some time. I might just finish my graduation and then, just go for post-grad. But I didn't get anywhere near the required cutoff to actually go in and make it for the colleges. So, and I felt really bad because I thought all this was like something that I would easily get. Chandoo (00:12:44): I used to have this self-perception that, "Yes, I'm awesome." In college, you are in a bubble, right? You're not really aware of this wider world out there where there's another 195,000 people who are also writing this. So, that was the wakening call for me. And then I thought, "Oh man, I need to actually sit and strategize this and prepare for it." Like I'm attacking this rather than just wake up and go and right. So, that's preparation became a real thing and I prioritize that, set aside time for it every day. And then, we'll track the shit out of it every day, really. Rob Collie (00:13:20): Yeah. Like I've told this story on this podcast before, but it's metaphorical. I go out to a field day, almost like miniature Olympics for a middle school. I was probably like in eighth grade, and I was going to run this race. It's one lap around the track, which to me seems like a distance race. Your kids can be a fast jog and that starting gun went off and I come out in the fast jog and the other guys are all sprinting from the very beginning. And there's this moment of realization like, "Oh, it's going to be like that." Next thing you know, I'm sprinting. I think I've experienced multiple junctures in my life that are like this. You think you're just going to go and do your thing and just be yourself and be excellent and just be your own self-image that you've very carefully curated for yourself without realizing it. And then, the real world goes, "Oh no, uh-uh (negative). That's not going to cut it." It's a real shock, isn't it? Chandoo (00:14:22): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:14:22): I've had many of those. Chandoo (00:14:24): And I think, that is necessary, especially, probably if you get that kind of a shock too late in your life, you might be too set in your ways to change anything. But when you are becoming an adult, when you are still forming your opinions and ideas about the world, having as much of these experiences as needed is very much necessary, I feel. I mean, even today, I would welcome that kind of things. But growing up, I look back and I think, "Ah, man, that was really what made me who I am today." Rob Collie (00:14:54): Microsoft was a big moment like that for me. That was a moment that lasted years. That was a bad one. I still have all kinds of relatively civil disagreements with my ex-wife about raising our teens. And I'm always of the opinion that like, "Oh no, no, no. The earlier they can experience failure, the better because the consequences are lower. The amortized benefit over time is greater." She's of the opposite. She's there to catch them and prevent any sort of failure, very proactively avoiding failure for them. And I'm like, "Oh no, no, no, no, let them fall. It's it's good for them." Chandoo (00:15:38): I feel like maybe, I have lucked out. I mean, obviously, every parent is so protective of their child, but early on, I think when I was in fifth class, which is like year five in school, I was sent to a boarding school and I never really went back home. I just bumped it from one boarding school to boarding college, to uni, which is also not my place. So, I was never really around my parents for them to kind of catch me if I make stupid choices. It was all like, "You figure it out." And this is all in late '90s, early 2000s when there is no internet, no mobile phone. I still remember, if I ran out of the money, I would have to write a letter, post it, and this would take minimum of three days unless I do some sort of an express mailing, which obviously costs more. Chandoo (00:16:27): So, I'd go for the cheapest thing, postcard. And then, I'll go to my home three days later and they would have to money order the money. There's no bank account concept also. So, they'll have to send it through a postal money order. So, there's actually a lag of like seven or sometimes upwards of 10 days time. And sometimes, they may not even have the money. They might say, Oh wait, we'll send it to you after the first week of the month or whatever." It's all like, yeah. You figure it out, really. Rob Collie (00:16:56): Yeah. There's a week of maybe not eating. Chandoo (00:17:01): You'll have to figure it out. That's pretty much it. Rob Collie (00:17:04): That's it, yeah. All right. So, that was your first brush with it, like for real. But then, obviously, later, your Twitter handle, is it still r1c1? Chandoo (00:17:15): Yes, it is. I wouldn't let go of that. Rob Collie (00:17:18): No, that is an awesome one. I mean, even people who use Excel a lot don't always know about R1C1 notation. So, you end up in a very different strata of Excel skill. At some point later, you ended up in a number of other countries at one point, right? Like you were moving around the world, working for, was a consulting firm. Chandoo (00:17:40): Yeah. I think the real shift to Excel began a little later, especially after I finished my post-graduation. I started working as a consultant with one of the biggest technology companies in India and they basically go around the world, help other companies do their IT better. And it's a very large company. And I was working within the finance and insurance vertical of that company. Obviously, I am not really there to develop software because my role there is to understand what the clients want, translate that into technical terms, so that the software developers, designers, and testers can do their job. So, essentially, I'm a business analyst and it's a fancy word of saying that you would be using PowerPoint and Excel every day. That's pretty much what I was doing. I was building a lot of models, making presentations, taking complex concepts, and simplifying them into Word or Excel, so developers can take that and do their job better. Chandoo (00:18:39): So, early on, I realized, "Man, if I don't know Excel, I'm going to just stay behind in this job." And that's not something that they teach in college. The college is all about, how do you prepare marketing strategy for the fortune, 500 company? And here I am, just sitting in the cubicle, figuring out, "Oh, how do I analyze this? And how do I figure out what's going on with these bunch of projects so that we could improve something?" So, Excel became the real world application that I would use six to eight hours every day. And there were all these colleagues right next to me who do all these amazing models in Excel to figure out the costing for a project or all sorts of things. And I would know nothing about that and I felt really bad. Chandoo (00:19:21): But early on in that job, I was not really doing anything worthwhile. I was just kind of like an apprentice. So, I would only do odd jobs. So, I had a lot of, you could say free time, but I would think that as learning time. So, all I would do is I'd open up Excel. I'd click on random buttons to see, "Oh, what this does. Oh, indirect function, what this would do." So, that got me really curious and I started building some silly things for my personal life, like I'll bill a budget in Excel just to understand how things work, how to make it better. And at one point, I thought, I steadily bumped into something that looks so interesting. And I thought nobody in the world would know about this. I felt like, and I discovered something and they already had my chandoo.org website by then because I am always fascinated by tech. Chandoo (00:20:08): So, I had website created couple of years before, really just as a personal project and I put all my personal life stories there. So, I thought, "Oh, maybe I should just put it on my blog and talk about this new thing that I discovered in Excel." And I put it there. Obviously, it's not a discovery. It's something that people have been doing for ages. It's just that in my own silo, I thought this was new. But when I put there, I got a random comment from somebody in a different part of the world. And that was a weird experience because up until that time, the only people who read the blog are my friends or people who I personally know. I'll tell them, "Hey, I have this blog," and they'll go and read it and they'll comment. But then, I got this comment from a strange dude all over in a different part of the world saying, "You know what, you could also do this to improve the chart." Chandoo (00:20:57): And that kind of blew me like, "Oh, there is actually a community of Excel users who are collaborating and sharing information." And I started slowly doing that over time. And one thing led to another and it kind of blew really out of proportion that at some point, I was actually doing two jobs, right? This consulting job, as well as maintaining the blog in the weekends and nights, just keeping up with the traffic, as well as sharing information, collaborating with people in the comments and email. It became too much. But I also thought, maybe I could go and launch a product here to see if this could become a business. And again, none of this was intentional. It was simply, I would write an article and people will say, "Hey, if you put a template around this, we would buy it." Chandoo (00:21:43): And then, I thought, "Oh, really? You'd pay for this? Okay. Let's just see this." So, that's how things really happen. So, this all began in 2006, but around 2009, after three years of doing that, I left my job so that I could just do this full time. And by then, I had a bunch of not really products. I had two products, main products. So, one is an online Excel class, and the other is a set of project management templates built in Excel. And that's pretty much where it kind of really went from a blog website to a business and a life thing for me. Rob Collie (00:22:20): There are some echoes of some other people's stories in that. There's a little bit of parallel for me. I started my blog after you started yours. I started mine in 2009, long before I really knew what sort of business opportunities would come out of it. I kind of knew that there was a consulting company to be created around this new stuff, but the world wasn't ready for that. I wasn't ready for that. So, the blog existed for a long time before we became a company. It sounds a little bit like Bill Jelen story. It sounds a little bit like Adam Saxton, Guy in a Cube, right? Like it's almost always this side thing. That's just like a passion thing that eventually morphs into something more. Chandoo (00:23:08): You could kind of say that the formula, but again, there are many people who might either give up halfway through the journey simply because life got in the way, or they'd never really got to a point where it could become a self-sustaining thing. And also, some other people might be so lucky as today. From day one, they vision it as a business. But for many of us in this particular group, I think it all happened almost like a series of accidents really, rather than... Looking back, you might think, "Oh, that was a genius strategy to have a blog and this and that." And there's nothing really deliberate there. Rob Collie (00:23:48): Oh, I completely agree. It's like the same thing people tell me about the books that I wrote. "Oh, it's such genius that you wrote it in that informal non-tech book tone, Rob." And I go, "Well, it turned out though," but at the time, it was just a survival strategy. I couldn't get through writing that thing in the other voice. Chandoo (00:24:09): Yeah, I wouldn't have imagine. I think that's the thing, right? It is always good to look back and try to figure out or maybe there's a picture that we draw with all these random dots on the paper. There were other dots... Rob Collie (00:24:24): Or just let other people draw it for you. It's usually more flattering, than what you would draw for yourself, looking back. One of the things that we do on this show is we compliment our guests. We almost like attempt to make you uncomfortable with praise, but it's authentic, right? We don't go out of our way to manufacture things. So, again, I've seen multiple people, almost like explicitly try to copy the Chandoo formula. They've looked in from the outside and gone, "Wow, look at that," right? And go and try to copy it. And it's easier said than done because it turns out that the person behind the Chandoo formula is a little bit unique, like your personality and creativity and humanity. Rob Collie (00:25:14): You integrate that into this technical stuff in a way that you either have that or you don't. You can coach it up in yourself to a certain extent, but to go with all the hard work, there are some innate characteristics that we all look into them or don't look into them and that creativity and that sense of fun and whimsy, it's easy to tell when someone's forcing it. If people have very, very, very good radar for that, you're just so dang quirky in a such a good way. I mean that completely, as a compliment, I call some of my best friends freak shows. It's so cool and to have gotten to know you personally, we haven't necessarily kept in the closest touch, but we definitely got to know each other personally back in the day, and that was awesome. Chandoo (00:26:13): It is awesome. Talking about that formula, you could say it's a formula, but I would say it's one of the proven ways of growing your online brand and making it into a sustainable business. And it's nothing new that I invented. I think you could say, maybe I had lucked out by starting early because around 2003, 2004, that's pretty much when the ecosystem of these blogs and in personal branding was kind of like picking up in a more rapid fashion, just because there's more people with internet, there is more... For example, back in '90s, if you have to create a website, you wouldn't really know where to begin. But 2000s was slightly different because there's software like WordPress or BlogSpot and other stuff, which makes it easy for anybody to get them and then, put their... Chandoo (00:27:03): Which makes it easy for anybody to get on and then put their story out in the front of millions of people. Of course, people may or may not read it, but it was easy for me to put it out. And I think what I did early on is I would read a lot of blogs about growing an online business and an online brand. And this was also not deliberate, it so happened that those were the guys who were loudest in the blogosphere. So if for every 10 articles that are out there, five and six of them would be about the small business or teaching stuff or selling stuff. There's a lot of that, and I would read that and I would think, "Oh, this is a good idea, maybe I should include it in what I'm doing. And this is a good idea, maybe I should do it." But there is also some things that you are gifted with, not really gifted, but those are the things that were a part of your personality even before you jumped into this business world. Chandoo (00:27:54): You either grew up as an introvert or an extrovert, you either have flair for technology or you don't, and you either have good understanding of the language or you don't, and all of those things. So that's really our personality mix. So there is a strange combination of all of these weird things that really helped me reach the audience and say things. And also, keep it fun. I look back and I think, "Oh man, I put a joke in here without even trying." I think that's because I really enjoy... That's the way I liked to say things. My kids are now quite old and they're at a point where they're getting annoyed with all the jokes that I put, but they also appreciate that Dad probably is not going to ever be serious about... I mean, I am serious, I think about everything, but it's just that he's not going to be a strict dad, he's going to be a fun dad. That's really the kind of thing that they say. Chandoo (00:28:53): So that's really me. And I think that was part of the thing. But people can go and take the formula, which is really what I did. When I launched my first online course, I had no clue what to do. So I read this article, they were already doing some online courses in a different field, and one of the suggestions they gave is, you don't have to record the whole thing to sell it. Up until that point, I was thinking I had to create this 20 hour course before I could actually go and sell it. But they said, "Maybe make one or two modules first and then go and start marketing, go and start selling, because there may not be a market for what you're offering, so go and do it." Chandoo (00:29:33): So that's really what I did. I was working in Sweden at that time, and Nishant and Nakshatra were just born, and Jo was with them in India. Because of my consulting job, I'd go to all these places. So I was in Denmark and Sweden that time. And I launched this course, I said that, "Hey, there is Excel School now, please go and sign up." and I created only one module, one or two modules. Then I sold it, and I thought maybe five or 10 will buy it, it's about 60 to $100, the course. In my mind, that was a lot of money. Even today, it is a lot of money, but I felt like at that point, that is big bucks. And I think around 100 people bought it. And that really scared the shit out of me because when you take 100 times 100, that's almost $10,000 really. Chandoo (00:30:22): And $10,000 was sitting in my PayPal account, close to that. And $10,000 is close to my salary if I'm working in India, that's my annual salary at that point in life. But because I was working in Sweden, I would get overseas payments, so it was almost $50,000, that's how much I was making at that time. But I was thinking in my Indian mindset, "I'm making all my annual salary by selling this one course, which is not even ready." So it scared me. And I thought, "Man, I need to do it right by these people. They paid for it, they bought it, I need to deliver it to them, I only made two modules." So I left my job, went back to India, finished recording the rest of it and launched the course. So that's how I learned, and that's the formula that I show in my blog and sharing my personal stories, because I want others to take these ideas as well. But I think the key thing people might miss out is putting their personality into it. Chandoo (00:31:19): If you just want to fake it all the way, then it might be hard, but if you bring yourself in your perspective and your life and your values into it, that will make it your own, and you're no longer cloning anything you're taking the best of what is working for others and mashing it up. Rob Collie (00:31:35): Now, at some point on this journey, not to narrow you in too much, you were running Excel School, it's general purpose. One of the things I think you became known for as an outlier, even within that space was the dashboarding that you would do in Excel. Now that's where we saw the Mozart in Chandoo. I mean, holy cow, people would look at the stuff that you would build in Excel, and it's gorgeous, it's just so beautiful. And everyone... Not everyone, but a lot of people that I knew, very wise, people knew that the quality of their work was going to be judged by the visual impact that their spreadsheets would have. And people would go to your site, and again, they would go to your site for many reasons, but the one that I disproportionately encountered was people saying, "Yeah, we go get the slick Excel visuals from Chandoo." And this is particularly relevant as the world is experiencing the onset of Power BI. And I know you've diversified, you're not just the Excel guy anymore. I mean, heck you did a Power Pivot class for that, in what, 2012, 2013. Rob Collie (00:33:07): I honestly haven't kept close tabs on what you've been doing with Power BI. And that is a real shame because if, and again, I haven't looked, maybe I haven't looked because I don't want to feel inadequate, but as rich of a canvas as Excel is for dashboard creation, oh my gosh, Power BI has really hit critical mass on the things you can do in their report canvas. I feel like now I need to have a Christmas morning moment where I go open up a bunch of Chandoo-approved Power BI reports and go, "Oh my God." Does it speak to you? How's that transition been? Chandoo (00:33:51): Yeah, it's been very good, but also there were a couple of things that stopped me from really going full on when the Power BI way was going up. The number one thing is, between 2015 and 2016, that's when Power BI was gaining that initial momentum, I have been blogging and talking about Power BI as well, but we also chose to move from India to New Zealand. So that was a big move, you are taking all your life that you have been rooting in one country and then now suddenly you uplift and you go to a different part of the world. It is both physically and emotionally very hard experience to go set yourself up in a different place, make new friends and start your life all over again. And also around 2015, you could say, I reached a point where, and I'm not trying to brag or anything, it's just the fact of the matter is, I reached a point where there is no financial incentive that would motivate me to do things. Chandoo (00:34:54): I am very happy with what I have in my life. I have a very good family, enough money to sustain whatever I want to do for the rest of my life, and everything was there. So there is really no carrot in front of me that will chase me to go and get it. I mean, I would only have to do it if I am enjoying this. So for me, the enjoyment started shifting slowly from running a website to other things, like maybe becoming a better cyclist or being around the kids with their life or playing with Lego or doing video games or doing other fun craft things. Because one of the challenges of being creative in any field, I guess, you can't be creative all the while if you're just doing it not for fun reasons, but for something else. I thought, "Maybe I had my day, I'm enjoying things. I don't need to push myself harder." So that's when I turned a blind eye to Power BI, not just to Power, to Excel also. And I would only blog once or twice a month, and that's pretty much it. Chandoo (00:35:57): I would still produce good quality content that I'm enjoying, but I got myself into a place where there are so many other things and balls juggling in the air that I thought, "Okay, this is enough." But after settling down in New Zealand and after things calmed down a bit, that's when I started thinking, "Okay, I need to figure out what I'm doing with my time. You're not really doing it for money or anything, but there is also, you have time." I try to rekindle that passion for data and for helping people become good in their lives. So naturally I reassessed like, "Okay, what are the things that we have available today? So there's Excel, there is obviously Power BI and then there is other tools coming in." Simultaneously, I would do some consulting work for the local government here in New Zealand. So I'd get into situations where the data or the challenges were different than the ones that I have experienced previously. So I'm learning a lot, and I thought, "Okay." Again, my go-to point when I learn something new is, put it out on the blog so other people can also learn. Chandoo (00:37:00): So I created a course on Power BI, it's called Power BI Play Date. I teach dashboards and stuff like that in there. I tried to replicate some of that Xcel crafting and that sort of dashboard mindset, which tries to tell a compelling story and provide a good narrative to the end user rather than just use things for the heck of using it within Power BI. Now, Power BI is a different platform altogether. So it has its own rules and it has its own canvas and things like that, where there are set limitations imposed by the nature of things. Like in Excel, you may have to explain 10 things, but within Power BI, because of the interactions, you don't have to explain 10 things, you have to let your audience know that there are 10 things there, but only bring the important bits out and let them figure out the rest. Chandoo (00:37:50): So I do this and I enjoy it. I run the course and I do more around Power BI these days than I do on Excel. I run corporate trainings and stuff like that as well. It is a different platform and I enjoy building stuff on Power BI. What I do find a little bit lacking though, and I think it's just still evolving, it's too early for us to go and put judgment on Power BI on this space, which is the visuals, sometimes they are not up to the mark and not everything that you want to achieve to get the correct and accurate representation of the information, are straightforward within Power BI. There's probably custom visuals AND heavy customization you could do, but one of my core principles when I build anything with any software is, that we humans should be lazy. But if I am ending up clicking 300 times to format a bar chart, then I'm like, "What the heck? This should be simple." Rob Collie (00:38:46): Yeah. It is very clicky with the formatting. Chandoo (00:38:53): Yeah. I mean, there is Format Painter, but I feel like even after all the formatting, it will not get you nowhere near as good as a visual that you could produce in R or Excel, or any other tool for that matter. This is simply because I think they went in a different direction, maybe deliberately to enable that sort of interact to things. So everything needs to interact, or hence not everything that you could do in other tools is possible. But it's a visual software, the whole output of whatever you create in Power BI. You might build an amazing model and beautiful measures, but nothing is visible until you put a visual there. So the visuals need to be the hero of that platform, but I feel like the focus has been heavily on the data and modeling side of things. You need those, I guess, but now that they're stable, I wish Microsoft would put in more effort into the visual space and try to make them right and make them easy for the audience to build and work on them. Rob Collie (00:39:53): If you're interested in providing feedback, I can certainly connect you with the people that would like to hear it. Chandoo (00:40:00): I think. Rob Collie (00:40:02): It is very difficult. So, it's funny, the job that you worked at the consulting firm, you're the business analyst, that's exactly the job I had at Microsoft, which is trying to absorb what the customers need. And what they want and what they need aren't necessarily the same thing. Try to absorb all of that and then translate it to the tech crew to implement, while at the same time trying to simplify everything. That's exactly...So you were doing that for custom line of business software projects, probably, for the consulting firm, and I was doing it for things like Excel, but it's the same job. Chandoo (00:40:34): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:40:34): And for the people at Microsoft who have this job, doing that for Power BI, it's actually really hard sometimes to see the forest for the trees. You're so down in the details, it is a gift for someone in that role to be given any sort of thoughtful, structured feedback, or thoughtful, structured advice. Like on the visual layer, I would not be one that you would want to take that kind of structured advice, it's not really my forte, different beast, the Chandoo. Rob Collie (00:41:10): Okay. I was going to make this joke, which is that you're doing it wrong. If you have that kind of perspective where you reached the tipping point where the financial incentive isn't the primary driver, in my experience, from watching a bunch of Microsoft executives anyway, that's when you need to tell yourself that it isn't enough. And you need to just pick a taller hill and go climb that, and never be complete, never be fulfilled. And there are so many people like that. I haven't reached that point in my life that you're describing. That's something I strive for. I think that I'll be more like you and less like some of the people that I saw at Microsoft, who had everything, and still wrecked themselves after having everything. And it was really sad to watch it. I think a lot of celebrities in business are driven by this perpetual insecurity, that you fortunately, you're not driven by that. Chandoo (00:42:07): Yeah. I think, again, it's not portraying myself as I have no insecurities or I don't feel inadequate in any which way, it's just that at least I am aware from time to time, and I take a point... Like if I feel anxious for some reason and feel myself like I'm running towards this or that from time to time, I try to at least pull myself back and take a stop and at least try to admire what is already there, what is available and what we have achieved. And that lets me calm down a bit. Obviously there is no value in running for itself, but you don't want to be standing still and just admire the beauty. Also, there is some amount of effort you need to put in because that will make you feel fulfilled, having some fulfillment in your day, but it need not be just the amount of money that you are generating on an ongoing basis alone. Chandoo (00:43:00): At least that's my value. They might derive satisfaction just by running and chasing more money, and that's what makes them happy, they can do it. So you remember the time when you were not there or you were there, but we all went to Chicago from Cleveland when I was in US? And Jocelyn and I, we were driving in one car. So we rented this car, and I think you were driving in another car or something. And we went to, was it Jocelyn's sister or was it- Rob Collie (00:43:26): Yeah. Chandoo (00:43:26): ... your sister? Okay. Yeah. So we were driving in the car and Jocelyn was telling me all about her life story and how she met you and all of that, how both of you met each other while working at Microsoft and some of the hard times that she had and all of that, it was a very deep talk because Chicago is not nearby. So it was like a good four or five hours drive if I remember correctly. The topic turned into money topic as well. And Jocelyn was saying about few different things and this and that. And the topic turned on me, and I remember canvasing to her that I find it really hard to spend money because I grew up in a very poor family. I mean, it's not probably the poorest family by Indian standards, but it is still poor family. And there were times when I was growing up, when we would not know exactly where our next meal would come or how we are going to pay for school fees. Chandoo (00:44:17): And there were points of time where I had to pull out of school because we couldn't afford school fees and all sorts of that. There was a lot of hardship. As a kid I never really thought of that as hardship, it was just the experience. So you're growing up, but there was a lot of uncertainty, and that makes you who you are. As I grew up and as I started making money, that insecurity that if I don't have money, then I will struggle. Not only me, but whoever is dependent on me will also struggle. So that made me an obsessive saver where I will try to save everything for tomorrow rather than be in the moment and enjoy what I have today. And even when I have big money and I have lots more to spend, I would be always like, "I don't need anything. I'm happy with what I have. I'll just put it off for tomorrow." Chandoo (00:45:07): So I was telling Jocelyn that I find it really hard to spend money with the amount of money that I make. I still try to just spend maybe 10 or 20% of what I earn and everything else is going towards the saving or investment or whatever. So you could say maybe I'm chasing that instead of chasing money, I'm trying to chase for some better tomorrow. I mean, I do realize that there is no better tomorrow, today's as good as it gets. So you need to take a moment, chill out and enjoy. But I think having that awareness is more important than just chasing. If you know why you are chasing something, then you will enjoy it. Rob Collie (00:45:42): Agreed. The other part of that story also resonated with me, which is you had a little time to recharge your batteries, pursue some other things. And then you come back around and you say, "Hey, this Power BI thing, that is a worthy thing to explore, that is a worthy development path for myself." It's almost like the opportunity to, like your favorite movie, you would love to be able to watch it again for the first time, experience it a new. Now, Power BI isn't like Excel, it's not the same thing, it's similar in some ways, but it's the closest you're ever going to get to being able to climb the Excel hill again, is to climb the Power BI hill. And in the end, you end up with this same sort of polished, interactive output, a symphony being played over some data. And for whatever reason, sickos like me and you, that speaks to us. Chandoo (00:46:43): Yeah, we enjoy it. And it is a very good challenging environment for you to learn and master and talk about it. It's a different experience altogether to do things in Power BI, because despite all it's visual, that's what the software is for. Unlike Excel, there is no area where you're building the calculations, everything is in this black box. Well, technically not a black box, you can still see the measures and all that, but a lot goes behind scenes than what is out there. So explaining that, and because I try to view everything from the explanation I write, because my job, I feel like is to do something and then also explain it. So every time I build something, I'm like, "Okay, how am I going to explain this?" Because I don't want people to be like, "Ta- da, this is showing up now." So it needs to be having that steps as well. So I try to think in that direction, and that is an interesting challenge in itself to take something like that and make it more reachable to the audience, I guess. Rob Collie (00:47:44): Just thinking about that, I think about you're going through that and doing that, you're creating videos, right? Chandoo (00:47:49): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:47:50): So I've got to thank you, you taught me Camtasia. Chandoo (00:47:55): Oh, well. Rob Collie (00:47:55): Yeah. And not just like, "Oh, here are where the buttons are," you taught a bit of the art of it. Chandoo (00:48:02): Oh, well, I really appreciate it. And I think, I feel like I have learned more Camtasia in the last year than all of my life together. This might surprise you lik, "What the heck are you talking? You are using Camtasia all the way back in 2013 as well." This is because about a year and half ago, I decided to switch from blog first to YouTube first. So now all my content is primarily produced for YouTube. And if needed, I will put a blog article, but sometimes I'll just link to an older article because there is a lot of content already. And I feel like there is no extra value in writing another article just for the sake of maintaining a YouTube video. So primarily all the content that I'm creating is for YouTube. And the YouTube presents a different challenge. If I'm creating a course, people are hooked on it, they paid for it, they logged in, they're setting time to learn, so they will watch me go through all the steps for 15 minutes to understand. Chandoo (00:48:57): But on YouTube, it's a different game altogether. The audience have many other distractions. There is also the aspect of how much time they can set aside in their day. Many times people are not really deliberately sitting down, "Okay, I'm going to have a YouTube sesh now." Instead they're doing something, and then suddenly they'll go onto YouTube to see quickly how to do certain things, or maybe they're having their tea break or lunch and they just want to watch a video. So that time span is very limited, and we want to address something valuable, provide good content and share something fun with them. So the videos need to be shorter, but they still need to be just as useful, fun and engaging. So I'm learning more on Camtasia in the last one year, like how do you combine various things, how do you add more effects, how do you present your story, how do you view this together. But yeah, it's good. Rob Collie (00:49:52): Tom's not here today, but one of his pet peeves is the cliche you hear over and over again, "There's more data created in the last year than in the entire human history before that." Well, here's another example of that, "Chandoo has learned more about Camtasia in the last year than he has in all of human history before." And when you said that you've learned more in the last year about Camtasia, my jaw did in fact drop. I'm like, "Oh my God, I need to come see this." Basically, everything I know about video editing in Camtasia, I learned from you, and in a very short period of time, so I need another bootcamp. Chandoo (00:50:29): You might have taken those and you might have gone really well past that point. Obviously that's really what happens with technology tools, the software evolves, we use it day in, day out. Then we realize, "Oh, we could do this. We could do that". Yeah, maybe watch some of my YouTube videos and let me know how that is, if you enjoy not just the video, but also the editing. Rob Collie (00:50:51): When you're watching something that's well done, you don't really notice. Chandoo (00:50:55): Yeah, obviously that's the whole point, right? Rob Collie (00:50:58): Right, the techniques. But then it was different essentially sitting at the editing console with you and you going, "Okay, so here I would probably do something like this." And then I'm like, "Oh, I would have never thought to do that. That's that's awesome." Certain pieces of software, certain tool sets are ones that I tend to evolve my skills over time on my own. I'm not really making videos these days. Maybe I'll be evolving otherwise. I would say that my Camtasia skills are basically frozen in 2013 where you taught me. Chandoo (00:51:30): Well, that's a nice compliment. And yeah, I think if you're not making videos, there's almost no value in learning the skills, because it just keeps changing and they have newer version now coming up every year. So sometimes you learn something, and the next year, boom, there's another way of doing it. And then we're like, "Why did they even bother learning this in the first place?" Rob Collie (00:51:53): The people at our company that play in our fantasy football league, and who've been subjected to my fantasy football gloating videos, they owe the production quality of those to you. I can't credit you for the singing quality, the vocals in those videos are terrible. And there's nothing you could do, even Chandoo couldn't correct my singing. And no, those videos are not available for public consumption. We are not going to- Chandoo (00:52:19): Maybe you should probably- Rob Collie (00:52:19): ... unlisted for a reason Chandoo (00:52:20): ... do that as the next episode of Raw Data, we're all singing. Rob Collie (00:52:25): On the previous episode, we talked about rewriting an AC/DC song, Dirty Reads Done Dirt Cheap. AC/DC really lends itself to alternate vocals. It wouldn't be the first time I've rewritten an AC/DC song, but then someone's got to get on the mic, things get ugly. Well, I'm one of those artists, when I write the alternate lyrics, I can't let someone else sing it for me. I've got to go do it myself, and again, it's sad. It's kind of neat. I mean, on one hand you could say that you were early to the internet. I'm going to use the word celebrity because I don't think really, any other word is better, and celebrity is not the perfect word, but one of the early adopters, one of the first movers in that space. Of course at the same time, that's years later than Bill Jelen. Chandoo (00:53:13): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:53:14): Which is crazy, right? I mean, it's like... Chandoo (00:53:17): I mean, imagine how much vision or... I don't want to say random and [inaudible 00:53:23] all his effort. It's completely his vision to have that started and even have a publishing company and all of that empire built. Rob Collie (00:53:32): Amazing, yeah. And as you say, he's been on the show and he has, absolutely it was not deliberate, it was still not a called shot. Chandoo (00:53:42): Yeah, but even if it's not deliberate, I think the biggest quality with some of these people like Bill, they have is, they listen, they see what's happening, they get the feedback, they tap into their emotions, they take a deliberate action from time to time. He could have started MrExcel forum and left it there, but he realized, "Okay, people are getting help from this. I need to... Chandoo (00:54:03): And left it there. But he realized, okay, people are getting help from this, I need to work on this, improve it better for them and people are buying these over priced Excel books that are sometimes way too detailed or way too complicated. I need to change the market. So, those are deliberate actions. You couldn't say one day he woke up and suddenly found a printing press in his house or anything. Rob Collie (00:54:21): Yeah. Agreed. So, what has it been like, having been early to the Excel internet celebrity phenomenon, but then joining the Power BI game... Not late, but very much in progress. Just like me, when I was first blogging about Power Pivot, I basically didn't have competition. I was the only weirdo obsessed with this stuff and writing about it like violently almost. I couldn't help myself. Whereas if I started that today, I would be joining a field that is very crowded by comparison. How has that been different? And I know that it's a different point in your life. So of course, it's going to be different anyway, but what have you noticed that's different about those two different journeys? Chandoo (00:55:10): I didn't really notice any difference, this is because the audience that I have been cultivating over time, they have also gone to a point in life where they are naturally migrating to Power BI and they already trust me, they know me, they have joined the courses or they have learned from me previously. So for them, it's easy to relate to the content that I produce because, it's like same teacher is teaching you 101 and then 102 class kind of thing. So, it's easy for them to relate. So, I had the ready audience either by luck or by that... Rob Collie (00:55:47): Cultivation. Chandoo (00:55:48): Yeah. So, it wasn't really like a fresh start. Like I would go and put, learnpowerbi.com as a website and put there. I'm already putting it on my website, so it's easy for people to connect the dots. But what I did notice is that audience, especially because Power BI is like an evolving platform and people have been using it way before even I started writing or we making videos about it, some of the people have already shifted away to those channels or those platforms to learn more. So, they are kind of tuning me out for Power BI because they're thinking Chandoo will teach us Excel, these other people will teach me about Power BI. So, the engagement or the feedback that I would get on Power BI related stuff is significantly lower than the Excel stuff that I would produce. So, I could clearly see that happening both on the YouTube channel as well as on my website. This is the reason why I got into self-doubt at some point thinking, should I even bother making a course about it, because it's a big investment of time on my side. Chandoo (00:56:55): And if I'm not benefiting a lot of people, then it would be just a futile exercise of me recording videos, producing everything, marketing it, and just simply annoying people if they're not ready to buy or whatever. But then when I launched the course, to my surprise, people were willing to pay and join. And that was the good, positive feedback for me. So, I went and I did that a few more times. So, it is good experience for me. All in all, I'd say it's a very positive experience. Last month on my YouTube channel, what I've been doing is, last Friday of every month, I do a live stream. So, Power BI is one of the most requested topics for live stream and the live stream that I did on Power BI, which was in June, was a massive success. Like we had quite a few people show up and go through the thing. And even on replay... This is a live stream, right? We are talking. There is lots of valuable content, but there is also a lot of content. I'm not going to call it. Rob Collie (00:57:52): There's valuable content and then there's content. Chandoo (00:57:55): So, there's a lot of stuff where I would just randomly read comments and flash them on the screen to say what people are asking or muse about things and all of that. And even on replays, people are watching all of that. So, this is good indicator that now there is more. And every time I ask a question on my community like, "What do you want to see next?" Power BI was the highest asked item. So, there's more people asking for that and I believe this is simply because people explain, they like my style, define me to be their teacher. So, they want me to teach it. And I think that is a good indicator for me. I will be creating more Power BI focused videos in the rest of this year and get more into Power BI. Not to say I'll ditch Excel. I'll keep using Excel because, Excel has continued to be the big platform that is used by millions of people all over the world. And I would love to be of help to them. Rob Collie (00:58:49): I think Excel is also experiencing a sort of Renaissance. Chandoo (00:58:53): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:58:54): The re-imagining what all it is that can happen in Excel. Some of the fundamentals of Excel are not being changed. They're being expanded in ways that we really haven't seen, maybe ever. There's a lot of fresh opportunity, a lot of fresh topics to talk about in Excel. A lot of things to dive into. Chandoo (00:59:14): Exactly. Especially the way they are expanding the formal language into more dynamic world and probably the terrible name, but the Lambda functions and all of that. Rob Collie (00:59:27): On the podcast with Brian Jones of Excel, I told him multiple times, "You're going to rename this at some point. You're going to rename it." Chandoo (00:59:38): The moment you see Lambda, you'll be like, "This is like another bot text." Nobody's going to even type that into Excel. Like, "What is Lambda?" Rob Collie (00:59:49): Yeah. I told him my favorite thing about the Lambda functions is that you hear the name and you immediately know what they do. Chandoo (00:59:56): Yeah. Rob Collie (00:59:58): So, are you getting into Lambda functions? Chandoo (01:00:00): I don't want to use the beta version. This is just by choice. I don't have access to Lambda function yet. I'm itching to play. I could just enable it with a click. I know that, but I don't want to make them. Simply because I don't want to ruin my Excel by changing the user experience from time to time. And I don't have to compete with them. I couldn't be really bothered to do that. But I know what they're capable of. I watch other people do it on YouTube and I did help play with them on my personal laptop the other day. It is a very good addition. I feel like this is not to again, go and say negative things about the amazing work this Excel team is doing. There is a lot of energy put into the more abstract way of doing things. I would say Lambda and Map and Reduce are at a very high level. Chandoo (01:00:46): And even I have done a lot of programming and I believe you may have already done some programming too. Even for us, it would be a hard concept to understand such a very generic version of things. And then actually capitalize on that raw power that you are getting now. But what would really help end users is, at least the way I hear when I talk to people or trying them is, some of the more things that should be done readily. Just to give one simple example, the other day I was training some people in Australia and they were asking, "How do I remove the spaces within the text?" So you have two words, but there's some extra spaces in the middle. And then I said, "Oh, you could use trim." And then they're like, "Trim? What is that?" Because when you hear the word trim, unless you have a very good background in the language or the history of computers, you wouldn't really guess that- Rob Collie (01:01:39): Right. Chandoo (01:01:39): ... this is the one that removes spaces. And then she immediately said, "Why doesn't it say remove spaces?" Rob Collie (01:01:46): Yeah. Chandoo (01:01:46): This is the usability that I'm talking about. We could add more synonym functions or if you go on internet and search, one of the common things that people ask with VLOOKUP is, "How do I VLOOKUP the second value or how do I get to everything with VLOOKUP?" And Excel still doesn't have a function. And they say, "Oh, you can use filter", or you can use this or that, but why not take the VLOOKUP and make, when now there is XLOOKUP also, but they had the opportunity to take the XLOOKUP and also make it more like XLOOKUP filter. So, I feel like some of that energy also needs to go into these mainstream things. Might sound like ranting here. But... Rob Collie (01:02:26): No. This is important. I share these beliefs. I think you're a bit more sophisticated in your beliefs all along these lines, where I'm a bit more intuitive, emotional about them. You can refine them to very specific points very quickly and effortlessly. I'm going to ask you a wild question out of the blue. If Microsoft came to you one day and offered you a job, let's ignore the money for a moment. How much they were paying you, whatever and you didn't have to move. Would you accept job on the Microsoft product teams? Chandoo (01:02:58): I might accept. In fact, this is not something that I told many people, but a while ago I did actually put my hand up for a job, because I saw one in the MVP group, we get some emails from product managers. The email content was, they're looking for a person who is at the intersection of Excel, Power BI and the data visualization. I said, "Yeah. I'm not really looking for a job or anything. I don't really have the energy to do a full-time job. But if you are happy to take somebody remote and if you're willing to take someone part-time for a couple of days a week, I might be willing to do this, because I believe I can contribute in this space." But I think they were actually looking for a specific role within a specific city in US. So, it didn't happen. Chandoo (01:03:45): I also questioned like, it's easy for an outsider to make noise and complain and bitch about things. But when you are there, you will then suddenly come across these 75 constraints on every little thing that I want to do and there's a lot of internal drama and politics and whatnot goes on in these organizations, right? So, there might be genuinely people trying hard, but get just pushed aside, because there're other priorities or paying customers are asking you to do this or that. So, I wouldn't really know for sure. Rob Collie (01:04:16): Well, I do. I've had that job and you are correct that very often, some of the things that seem very frustrating on the outside. Why the hell? But on the inside, there's a really good reason. Chandoo (01:04:31): Yeah. Rob Collie (01:04:31): It wouldn't even help the world to hear it really. It's too mundane, it's really boring. So, you're never going to hear that reason on the outside. But the thing is, it's also that clarity is very hard to come by. When you're in that job, almost by definitio

In this episode, Technicolor VFX Creative Director Kevin Chandoo discusses the methodology and techniques that were used for 'Spinning Out', including face replacements to set extensions and crowd duplication.

Chandoo.org is one of the top online Excel resources, with tutorials on everything from dashboards to financial modelling.  Chandoo is the CEO, or Chief Excel Officer, of Chandoo.org, which provides training on Excel and PowerBI.  He is also an Excel MVP.  In this interview, I chat with Chandoo about Excel trends and how he became an Excel master.

In today´s episode we interview Chandoo from Chandoo.org who was my Excel mentor and someone who gave me the inspiration to teach my Excel knowledge to the masses. Chandoo is an Excel MVP and an expert in Excel Dashboards, Data Analytics, Visualization & Power BI. His website has been running since 2004 and has over 600,000 monthly viewers and has been featured in many top newspapers, websites & books. In this Excel Podcast episode, Chandoo shares with us his journey into becoming the No.1 Excel website, how Power BI is changing the Excel landscape and shares with us his upcoming live webinar on Budget vs. Actual analysis in Power BI and his live Masterclasses on Advanced Excel & Dashboard Reporting + Power BI, Power Pivot, Power Query!

In the 56th episode of Chandoo.org podcast, let me answer the chicken and egg question of Excel users. How many formulas should you care to learn? What is in this session? In this podcast, Two personal updates 3 legs of formula writing Function knowledge Operators Referencing 6 categories of must-know functions Basic math Conditions Lookups Text Date & time Work specific Closing remarks & resources for you The post CP056: So which formulas you should care to learn? appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Ladies & gentlemen, its time we revived the much loved Chandoo.org podcast. In the 55th episode, I do a lousy imitation of Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous "I will be back" and tell you why there was such a long gap between episodes, my plans for reviving our podcast and more. What is in this session? In this podcast, Why there was such a long gap between last and this episode What next? How to extract every 6th item from a list? The post CP055: “Yes, I am back” edition (and a bonus Excel tip) appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

As Dr. Phil says, "Never put more into a relationship than you can afford to lose." Not sure what that has to do with Excel but it sounds vaguely wise, which is the whole point. Tim and Michael try to be your relationship coach for Microsoft Excel. Despised by data scientists, but used by everyone else, where are the boundaries and who has what it takes to enforce them. Join us in an exploration of our digital analytics love/hate affair with that most ubiquitous of analytics tools. (Cell) references made in this episode include: Chandoo.org, Juice Analytics, ggplot2, Bullet Charts in Excel, Geeks and Greeks by Steve Altes, Google Firebase.

In the 54th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's make you awesome in Pivot Tables. What is in this session? In this podcast, Quick updates Top 10 pivot table tricks Adding same value field twice Tabular layouts GETPIVOTDATA & 2 bonus tricks Relationships & data model One slicer to rule them all Show only top x values Relative performance Show unique count Spruce up with conditional formats Not so ugly pivot charts Resources & Show notes for you The post CP054: Top 10 Pivot Table Tricks for YOU appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 53rd session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's talk about data validation. What is in this session? In this podcast, What is data validation How Excel DV compares with database & software DV? Types of data validation rules List & custom rules explained Input & error messages Alternatives to data validation Enhancing data validation Removing data validation rules Homework problem for you Resources & show notes The post CP053: Excel Data Validation for Dummies appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 52nd session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's discuss monkeys, Ok, I am kidding. We are going to talk about M is for Data Monkey book. What is in this session? In this podcast, Updates: Why so much gap between episodes? Quick introduction to Power Query Why you should get this book? What is in this book? A very cool example of the techniques you will learn Conclusions The post CP052: Book Review – M is for Data Monkey by Ken & Miguel appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Oz du Soleil is an Excel MVP since 2015 and is an expert in data cleansing & analysis. He has an Excel blog over at www.datascopic.net which is his commitment to data literacy. He’s the leading author on the revised version of Guerrilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel and is working on a new book called Full Contact Data Management In this episode Oz shares his passion on data cleansing, talks about his books and his favourite Excel features.

In the 51st session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's discuss most frequently asked questions about VLOOKUP. What is in this session? In this podcast, What is VLOOKUP? What happens when VLOOKUP can't find the value? Should my list be sorted? Is VLOOKUP slower than INDEX + MATCH? What if my list has multiple matches? How to fetch 2nd / 3rd matching item? How to fetch all matching items? How to fetch items matching multiple conditions? How to speed up VLOOKUP? Why doesn't my VLOOKUP work? What to do in case of errors? Resources for you The post CP051: VLOOKUP FAQs – Most frequently asked questions about VLOOKUP – Answered appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

This is going to be epic!!! In the 50th session of Chandoo.org podcast, we have 50 Excel tips to make you awesome. What is in this session? In this podcast, Thank you message Fifty tips in 5 buckets Shortcuts & Productivity Formulas Managing Data Charts Using Excel better The post CP050: Fifty Excel Tips to make you awesome appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 49th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's talk about data dumps! What is in this session? In this podcast, What is a data dump Examples of data dump Why we dump Ways to avoid data dumps Go for information dumps Sort the dump Filter the dump Give a table Resources for you The post CP049: Don’t do data dumps!!! appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Zack Barresse is an Excel MVP since 2005 and is an expert in Excel Tables. He is a full time Excel consultant and runs an Excel blog over at www.ExcelTables.com He has recently published the only in depth book relating to Excel Tables: A Complete Guide For Creating, Using and Automating Lists and Tables

In the 48th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's make some animated charts!!! What is in this session? In this podcast, Announcements Why animate your charts? Non-VBA methods to animate charts Excel 2013's built-in animation effects Iterative formula approach VBA based animation Cartoon film analogy Understanding the VBA part Example animated chart - Sales of a new product Resources and downloads for you The post CP048: How to create animated charts in Excel? appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 47th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's see how Excel can make you an awesome entrepreneur. What is in this session? In this podcast, Why Excel for entrepreneurs Key areas of a business owner's work Projects & to dos Finances Customers & marketing Planning & strategy Processes & workflows 5 features of Excel that help Conclusions The post CP047: Best Excel tools for Entrepreneurs appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 46th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's talk about gantt charts and project plans. What is in this session? In this podcast, A brief intro to Excel 2016 What is a Gantt chart? How Gantt charts can help us? How to create Gantt charts in Excel Using bar charts with invisible series Using conditional formatting and formulas Using ready-made templates Resources on Gantt charts & project planning Conclusions The post CP046: Gantt charts & project planning using Excel appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Excel Keyboard shortcuts are used by almost every one of the 750 million Microsoft Excel users worldwide.  They range from the CTRL combinations shortcuts to the Function keys shortcuts as well as many other Excel keyboard shortcuts. In this episode I go through my top 10 favorite Excel keyboard shortcuts that will save you heaps of time when working with Excel data.  What is your favorite Excel keyboard shortcut?  Let me know by entering it in the comments section of this  episode over at:

In the 45th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's get in to Monte Carlo simulations. What is in this session? In this podcast, Quick personal updates - 200km BRM and book delay History of Monte Carlo simulations Monte Carlo simulations - an example How to do simulations in Excel Formulas VBA Data Tables Using data tables to run simulations - case study - estimating Pi value Things to keep in mind when setting up your simulation models Resources on Monte Carlo simulations in Excel Conclusions The post CP045: Introduction to Monte Carlo Simulations in Excel appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 44th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's talk about failures. What is in this session? In this podcast, Book announcement about Dashboards for Excel Story of my first ever dashboard Important lessons - Requirement Analysis for dashboards Resources for creating awesome dashboards Podcasts Books Courses The post CP044: My first dashboard was a failure!!! appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 43rd session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's talk about top time saving features of Excel. What is in this session? In this podcast, Quick announcement about Awesome August My 9 favorite time saving features of Excel Remove Duplicates Tables Pivot Tables Auto fill Format Painter Find & Replace VBA / Macro Recorder Auto save Auto complete / Intellisence Recap & Conclusions The post CP043: My favorite time saving features of Excel, Revealed. appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 42nd session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's talk about money. We are going to learn about various concepts that are vital for doing financial analysis and building models. What is in this session? In this podcast, Quick announcement about Awesome August 5 key finance concepts Time value of money Compound interest Risk free rate of return Net Present Value - NPV Internal Rate of Return - IRR Case study - Uber vs. Your car Conclusions The post CP042: Financial Analysis & Modeling concepts – 101 appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Bill Jelen aka "Mr. Excel" is an Excel MVP and one of the biggest names associated with Microsoft Excel. He is the author of 40 books about Microsoft Excel, Power Pivot and Power View. Bill has produced over 1900 Excel episodes of his daily video Podcast and has one of the most popular Excel websites and forums called MrExcel.com In this podcast we talk about how he became to be an Excel expert, his first days as Mr. Excel, the evolution of Microsoft Excel, the weirdest thing he has seen done with Excel, stories about his Power Excel Seminars, his new XL book, his favourite tips & shortcuts and much much more....

The Xtreme Pivot Table online course is my flagship Excel course which has 14 different chapters, over 200 short video tutorials and around 10 hours of content. I discuss the different topics that are covered in this course and the benefits that you get and I also provide a special discount coupon for you!

In the 41st session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's take a trip to data hell and meet 6 ugly, clumsy, confusing charts. I am revisiting a classic Chandoo.org article - 6 Charts you will see in hell. What is in this session? In this podcast, Quick announcement about Awesome August 6 charts you should avoid 3D charts Pie / donut charts with too many slices Too much data Over formatting Complex charts Charts that don't tell a story Conclusions The post CP041: 6 charts you’ll see in hell – v2.0 appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Ken Puls is an Excel MVP who is the founder of long standing Excel website & forum called ExcelGuru.ca He is an expert in Power Query and has co-authored the book M is for (Data) Monkey: A Guide to the M Language in Excel Power Query

In the 40th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's talk about Power Query. I have the pleasure and fortune to catch up with Miguel Escobar (who along with Ken Puls runs PowerQuery.Training website) and talk about this very exciting piece of technology and how it can make our life simpler. What is in this session? In this podcast, Welcome Miguel's introduction, background and current projects What is Power Query How to install it Sample use cases of Power Query What is Power BI Resources for learning Power Query - Books & Courses The post CP040: Intro. to Power Query – What is it and how to get started – with Miguel Escobar appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 39th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's learn about FOR loops. There is a special giveaway in this podcast. It is a workbook with several FOR loop VBA code examples. Listen to the episode for instructions. What is in this session? In this podcast, Announcements What is a loop - plain English & technical definitions For Loop vs. other kind of loops (While & Until) For Next loops For Each loops Nested For loops Special tips on For loops Performance issues & infinite loops Conclusions & giveaway The post CP039: May the FOR Loop be with you – Introduction to For Loops in Excel VBA appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Chris Newman (aka Chris Macro) is the founder of one of the best looking Excel websites around called TheSpreadhseetGuru.com He is a VBA expert and has created various time saving Excel Add-Ins that have helped thousands of Excel users worldwide.

In the 38th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's optimize data to ink ratio of your charts. What is in this session? In this podcast, Announcements What is Data to Ink Ratio? Obvious ways to optimize Data to Ink Ratio More ways to optimize Data to Ink ratio Highlighting what is important Conclusions The post CP038: Data to Ink Ratio – What is it, How to optimize it, Techniques & Discussion appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In this introductory podcast I share with you my story into becoming an Excel expert and tell you about the show´s format and what to expect from this Excel podcast!

In the 37th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's debug 'em #VALUEs & #N/As. What is in this session? In this podcast, Introduction to Excel formula errors The easy kind: syntax errors The triky ones: # ERRORs Fixing errors - using IFERROR & ISERROR Error checking & debug options Using Errors deliberately - charts & data validation A challenge for you - produce #NULL error Conclusions The post CP037: Error error on the wall, How do I fix you all? – Understanding & Fixing Excel Errors appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 36th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's follow the trend. What is in this session? In this podcast, A quick trip to down under What is trend analysis 4 types of common trends linear curve cyclical strange Doing trend analysis in Excel - the process How to use trend analysis results Conclusions The post CP036: How to do trend analysis using Excel? appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 35th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's hear from Dan Fylstra, the creator of Excel Solver. I had the fortune of meeting Dan when I was in Santa Clara last month. I immediately asked him to be part of Chandoo.org podcast and he was kind enough to agree. So today let's take a trip down the memory line, hear him talk about some of the fascinating all the early development stories of Solver, VisiCalc & Excel. What is in this session? In this podcast, Introduction Early days of Solver Working with VisiCalc, migration to Excel What keeps Dan busy these days Advice for anyone planning to learn Solver & business modelling The post CP035: on Solver, its story and future – Interview with Dan Fylstra appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 34th session of Chandoo.org podcast, Let's hear from Jordan Goldmeier - my friend, fellow blogger, Excel blogger & author. After many years of interaction thru email, blogs, Skype calls, finally I met him at PASS BA conference at Santa Clara this week. He gave me a copy of his new book - Advanced Excel Essentials and I immediately asked him to do a podcast. So here we go. What is in this session? In this podcast, Introduction What is this book all about Sample chapter review - User forms Design principles for creating advanced user interactions How to become advanced Excel user - pathway recommended by Jordan More info about Jordan A secret for you The post CP034: Advanced Excel Essentials book talk with Jordan Goldmeier appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 33rd session of Chandoo.org podcast, let’s turn the mic to our listeners and hear their tips. What is in this session? This session has 2 things. A surprise Easter egg (an Excel tip hidden in the podcast audio) Collection of Excel tips recorded & submitted by Chandoo.org readers Listen to this session Click here […] The post CP033: There is an Easter egg in this podcast!!! appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 32nd session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's make legendary column charts. What is in this session? Column charts are everywhere. As analysts, we are expected to create flawless, strikingly beautiful & insightful column charts all the time. Do you know the simple rules that can help you create legendary column charts? That is our topic for this podcast session. In this podcast, you will learn Few personal announcements Rule 0: Start at zero Rule 1: Sort the chart Rule 2: Slap a title on it Rule 3: Axis + grid-lines vs. Lables Rule 4: Moderate formatting Conclusions The post CP032: Rules for making legendary column charts appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 31st session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's disappear. What is in this session? Spreadsheets are complex things. They have outputs, calculation tabs, inputs, VBA code, from controls, charts, pivot tables and occasional picture of hello kitty. But when it comes to making a workbook production ready, you may want to hide away few things so it looks tidy. That is our topic for this podcast session. In this podcast, you will learn Quick announcements first anniversary of our podcast etc. Hiding cells, rows, columns & sheets Hiding chart data points On/off effect with form controls, conditional formatting Making objects, charts, pictures disappear Disabling grid-lines, formula bar & headings Hiding things in print The post CP031: Invisibility Tricks – How to make things disappear in Excel? appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 30th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's learn how to uncover fraud in data. What is in this session? In the wake of hedge fund scams, accounting frauds and globalization, We, analysts are constantly second guessing every source of data. So how do you answer a simple question like, "am I being lied to?" while looking at a set of numbers your supplier has sent you. That is our topic for this podcast session. In this podcast, you will learn Quick announcements about 50 ways & 200k BRM Introduction to fraud detection 5 techniques for detecting fraud Benford's law Auto correlation Discontinuity at zero Analysis of distribution Learning systems & decision trees Implementing these techniques in Excel A word of caution The post CP030: Detecting fraud in data using Excel – 5 techniques for you appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 29th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's impress the boss with Excel charts. What is in this session? Many Excel charts live a short life. They spawn in an ambitious analyst's spreadsheet. They go to boss with literally flying colors. The boss frowns, they disappear in to recycle bin. Don't curse your Excel charts with short life span. Here is a 6 step road map to help you create awesome Excel charts, everytime. That is our topic for this podcast session. In this podcast, you will learn Quick announcements about 50 ways & Einstein 6 step road map for charting success ONE: Dig your data TWO: Validate insights THREE: Pick charts that go well FOUR: Add title & message FIVE: Remove clutter SIX: Prompt action A real life example with road map in action Resources for creating awesome charts The post CP029: Impress your boss with Excel charts – 6 step road map for you appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 28th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's figure out how to express business rules & logic to Excel. What is in this session? What good are spreadsheets if they can't solve business problems? But we all struggle when it comes to modeling real world business conditions in Excel. For example, if you have below business rule to decide how much discount to offer a customer, If the customer bought 3 or more times previously and offer 15% discount If the customer bought 1 or 2 times previously AND customer's age is >40, offer 10% discount If the customer visited our New York store between 6PM-9PM offer 5% discount Else no discount How would you go about modeling these in Excel? That is our topic for this podcast session. In this podcast, you will learn The challenge of modeling business logic & rules in Excel My struggles with such formulas in early days 4 features of Excel that can help you with this. Example business rules & how to write formulas The post CP028: How to tell business logic & rules to Excel? appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 27th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's pave way for an awesome 2015. We are going to talk about 15 proven strategies for making you awesome in Excel & Your work. What is in this session? We all get fresh dose of energy, enthusiasm & drive during new years. So we aim for bigger & more awesome things. But once the first few weeks are over, we just settle down to the normal rhythm and forget about these big, hairy & audacious goals. Let's make 2015 different. In this podcast, Let's understand how you can become awesome in Excel & your work this year, with 15 proven strategies: Announcements - my new year & plans for next few months Becoming awesome - 3 important areas of focus Learning New formulas New features Different charts Macros Linkup Excel with other software Get a book Join a course Application Take up a work project Consulting Mimic a chart in Excel Beyond XL - Power Pivot etc. Sharing Forums Helping a colleague Comment on blogs Train your team The post CP027: 15 proven strategies to be awesome in 2015 appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

A big, warm & pleasant hello to you. I wish you a merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015. May your holidays be filled with joy, togetherness, celebrations and fulfillment. May your new year be filled with hope, energy and awesomeness. I want to tell you how thankful I am for all your support in this year. Every time you visit our website, read an article, leave a comment, enroll in a course, purchase a product, read one of my books, listen to a podcast episode, watch a video or tell your friends about Chandoo.org, I feel nothing but gratitude, thankfulness and amazement. 2014 is the most successful year since starting Chandoo.org, all thanks to you. Heartfelt thanks to you, from my family, staff and volunteers. About this year's holiday card We took this picture recently when we went to Udaipur (a city in northern India). For a change, no one closed their eyes when the camera clicked. A holiday gift for you... Read on to download your special holiday gift. The post Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2015 [Holiday Gift Inside] appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 26th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's learn all about Excel !@#$%^+/*(}][

In the 25th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's learn how to avoid SSUP syndrome. What is in this session? Most of us suffer from Sexy on the Spreadsheet, Ugly on Printout syndrome. I used to suffer from it too. This happens because we spend all our attention creating that perfect workbook, report or model. And then, we forget about making the proper print settings. In this podcast, let's understand how to create awesome workbooks that look great and print great. In this podcast, you will learn, Frozen & Cars, where my free time goes Primer on print settings Width & height of printouts Page breaks Row & column repetitions on every page Size & orientation of paper Dealing with unprintables Proofing your print settings Printing whats not on screen Closing thoughts The post CP025: Sexy on spreadsheet, Ugly on Printout appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 24th session of Chandoo.org podcast, let's customize Excel so we become productive. What is in this session? Each of us use Excel in our own way. And yet, we all end up using the same Excel. That's not fair. Shouldn't the Excel of an accountant be different from Excel of a teacher? In this podcast, lets understand some of the powerful & useful ways to customize Excel so that we can do our work better. Tune in only if you are serious about productivity. You can get Excel Customization Handbook free. Listen to the podcast for instructions. In this podcast, you will learn, Announcements Why customize Excel? Customization options: Excel Options Quick Access Toolbar Excel Ribbon File menu / back stage view Themes, styles & templates Personal Macros Closing thoughts & Bonus give away instructions The post CP024: Customize Excel to boost your productivity appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 23rd session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets talk about my experience with Hudhud cyclone. Note: This podcast session has no Excel tips. It is a story of how our family is surviving the effects & aftermath of destructing Hudhud cyclone that recently (on 12th October) passed thru our city. Hopefully, you still find it interesting & inspiring. If you are expecting some Excel tips, check again next week.   What is in this session? Growing up, I lived all my childhood in coastal cities. So cyclones & severe storms are not new to me. But first time, I have experienced anything as severe, destructive & long as Cyclone Hudhud. After the cyclone, we (our family and 1000s of other families in Vizag, our city) had to endure days with no power, water, cellular signals and access to essential supplies. Fortunately, great progress has been made in the last few days and things are restoring to normalcy. We (our locality) is expecting to have power & regular water supply by this Sunday (19th of October). The post CP023: My experience with Hudhud Cyclone [personal story] appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 22nd session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets do some macros. What is in this session? VBA (or macros, automation) is a mystery for many of us. So in this podcast, lets unravel the mystery behind it and get you started with the awesome world of automation. In this podcast, you will learn, What is a macro? What is VBA then? Reasons for using VBA Macros Automation Extending Excel's capabilities Efficiency Applications How to get started with VBA Macros? Using Recorder Example Macro Going beyond recorder - Learning VBA The post CP022: What’s a Macro? Introduction to Excel VBA, Macros & Automation appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 21st session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets compare lists. Quickly What is in this session? Comparing things is a favorite pastime for analysts all over the world. Sadly, it is also an area where we waste hours. So in this episode, I share my top secret comparison techniques to save you time. Note: This is a short format podcast. That means you spend less time listening to it, while becoming more awesome. In this podcast, you will learn, Why I sound like I am on a secret mission at a mafia hideout. 5 ways to compare 2 lists Manual method Conditional Formatting Row Differences LOOKUP formulas COUNTIF formulas Bonus tip: Removing duplicates Conclusions The post CP021: How to quickly compare 2 lists in Excel appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 20th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets save some time. What is in this session? We all want to save time and stay productive. The obvious answer seems like using keyboard shortcuts. But they can only get you so far. So what about the real productive strategies? That is what we address in this podcast. In this podcast, you will learn, Announcements 5 key areas of business analyst work - tracking, analysis, reporting, data management & modeling Time saving strategies for tracking for analysis for reporting for data management for modeling Conclusions The post CP020: Top 10 time saving strategies for business analysts appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 19th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets talk about modeling best practices. What is in this session? I am very happy to interview my good friend, blogger, author, excel trainer & business-women - Danielle Stein Fairhurst for this session. I first met Danielle when I went to Sydney, Australia in April 2012. Our friendship & collaboration grew a lot in the last 2.5 years. She is a great speaker & trainer. This episode is loaded with her trademark style commentary, explanation & tips for better modeling. I hope you will enjoy it. In this podcast, you will learn, Introduction to Danielle & her work 6 Tips for Best Practice Modeling Write consistent formulas Avoid hard-coding Smart referencing Ditch the bad habits Document assumptions Format & label things Resources for learning more The post CP019: 6 Tips for Best Practice Modeling – Interview with Danielle from Plum Solutions appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 18th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets loose your Pivot table virginity. Note: This is a short format episode. Less time to listen, but just as much awesome. What is in this session? Pivot tables are a very powerful & quick way to analyze data and get reports from Excel. But surprisingly, not many use them. Today, lets bust your pivot table virginity and understand the concepts like pivoting, values, labels, filters, groups and more. In this podcast, you will learn, Announcements What is a Pivot Table? Example of business data & reporting needs Key pivot table terms to understand Creating your first pivot table Learning more about pivot tables The post CP018: Dont be a Pivot Table Virgin! appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 17th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets leave Excel aside and talk about other MS Office apps. Thats right. We will be learning 10 tips on how to use Word, Power Point, Outlook etc. Ready? In this podcast, you will learn, About Paul Ten tips for MS Office 1. Use Excel to communicate instead of just calculations 2. Paste Special 3. Double click trick! 4. Inserting screenshots 5. Turning off notifications & more... The post CP017: Top 10 non-Excel MS Office tips for you – Interview with Paul Woods – Office MVP & Blogger appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 16th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets review 3 very useful books for aspiring analysts. What is in this session? Analytics is an increasingly popular area now. Every day, scores of fresh graduates are reporting to their first day of work as analysts. But to succeed as an analyst? By learning & practicing of course. And books play a vital role in opening new pathways for us. They can alter the way we think, shape our behavior and make us awesome, all in a few page turns. So in this episode, let me share 3 must have books for (aspiring) analysts. The post CP016: 3 Must have books for aspiring analysts appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 15th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets answer some of your burning Excel questions. What is in this session? Around last week, I invited you to ask me anything. More than 150 people responded to this call and sent in their questions. Since answering all the questions is not possible, I handpicked roughly 10 questions to answer in this episode of Chandoo.org podcast. In this podcast, you will learn, How to fill blank cells with data from above How to work with Big data in Excel How to combine data from multiple sources & analyze it in Excel How I am managing my life after starting Chandoo.org How to create and distribute stand-alone Excel products How to control a model railroad set using Excel VBA (not fully answered) & more... The post CP015: Handling big data, Controlling model railroad sets, Overcoming Excel obsession & more – ASK CHANDOO appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 14th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets figure out how to make awesome dashboards. What is in this session? Excel based dashboards are much in demand these days, thanks to advancements in Excel & growing pressure on costs. Now a days, analysts & managers are expected to quickly put together a dashboard using Excel. But how do you make a dashboard? What process you should follow? These are the questions we address in this podcast. In this podcast, you will learn, Announcements about upcoming dashboard classes Ten step process for creating awesome dashboards 1. Talk to your end users 2. Make a sketch of the dashboard 3. Validate your understanding 4. Collect data 5. Structure the data ... The post CP014: How to create awesome dashboards – 10 step process for you appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 13th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets turn our attention to on-going FIFA worldcup and ask an important question. What is in this session? A week ago, we discussed "Has it been a late goal FIFA worldcup?" and used various charts & analysis techniques to answer the question. In podcast, lets tackle the same problem, understand various approaches to answer questions like these & shares some lessons for all the analysts. The post CP013: Is this a FIFA worldcup of late goals, lets ask Excel [How to analyze data to answer questions like these…] appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 12th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets get productive fast. Announcement: Short format podcasts sessions once a month Based on listener feedback, I am adding short format sessions (20 mins). This short format sessions will run once a month (along with longer sessions that we publish almost every week) so that you have something light & easy to chew between heavy doses of Excel awesomeness. I hope you like this new format. Do let me know what you think in comments. And I really appreciate your reviews & comments on iTunes. Please click here and post your review. The post CP012: Top 10 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for you appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

If you want to create magical effect with your Excel workbook (or report, dashboard, model), then hear no further. In this episode, we explore 5 very powerful magic tricks you can apply to get jaw dropping reactions from your bosses, clients & colleagues. In this podcast, you will learn, Annoucements Why magic 5 Excel Magic Tricks 1: Conditional formatting 2: Form controls + Charts 3: Pivot tables + Slicers 4: Macros + Automation 5: Using right feature @ right time How to learn these magic tricks Conclusions The post CP011: 5 Excel magic tricks to impress your boss appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

This is a continuation of Session 9 - Averages are mean In the earlier episode, we talked about AVERAGE and why it should be avoided. In this session, learn about 8 power analysis techniques that will lift your work above averages. In this podcast, you will learn, Re-cap - Why avoid averages 8 Techniques for better analysis #1: Start with AVERAGE #2: Moving Averages #3: Weighted Averages #4: Visualize the data ... Conclusions The post CP010: Averages are Mean – 8 Techniques for making your analysis above average appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 9th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets raise above AVERAGEs. AVERAGEs are a very popular and universal way to summarize data. But do you know they are mean? Mean as in, AVERAGEs do not reveal much about your data or business. In episode 9 of Chandoo.org podcast, we tackle this problem and present solutions. In this podcast, you will learn, What is AVERAGE? Pitfalls of averages 5 statistic concepts you must understand Standard Deviation Median Quartiles Outliers Distribution of data What next? The post CP009: Averages are Mean – Know these things before you make any more AVERAGE()s appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Here is a problem we all face once in a while. We inherit this bulky, bloated, leaking at the edges workbook from a colleague. Now the onus of maintaining it is on us. The person who made this workbook is nowhere to be found. May be she is vacationing in Hawaii sipping pineapple juice. May be he became a vice president and roaming the country in your company's private jet. So what do we do? How do we handle this inheritance? That is the topic of our podcast, episode 8. In this podcast, you will learn, An overview of the inheritance problem 6 Tips to understand workbooks made by someone else Tip 0: Talk to the creator Tip 1: Model the workbook on paper Tip 2: Locate the engine, ie the formulas Tip 3: See what else is under the hood - hidden sheets, names, VBA code Tip 4: Annotate (add comments) as you learn Tip 5: Locate the controls - inputs, assumptions, scenarios Tip 6: Re-construct from scratch Deep dive in to understanding the formulas Deep dive in to understanding VBA code Conclusions The post CP008: 6 Tips to handle workbooks made by someone else, #4 is something I struggle with too! appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 7th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets make you aweSUM(). Imagine for a second that Excel cannot add up numbers. And no it cant subtract them either. What would that look like? A glorified Notepad. That's right. Excel's ability to add up numbers, along with features like formulas, charts, pivot tables & BHATTEXT() are what make it such a lovely software. May be not the BHATTEXT(), but we all agree that Excel is so versatile and useful because it can add up numbers (and perform other calculations) with ease. But how well do you know the SUM formulas of Excel? In this podcast, you will learn, Special personal fruit announcement :P + operator Status bar & total rows in tables Auto Sum feature SUM() function SUMIFS function Special cases of SUMIFS function SUBTOTAL & AGGREGATE functions Other summing functions - SUMPRODUCT etc. The post CP007: aweSUM() – Overview of SUM functions in Excel appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 6th session of Chandoo.org podcast, we focus on making you a better analyst and propose a road map for getting better at data analysis & improving your career prospects. In this podcast you will learn, Why become a better analyst? The road map for becoming a better analyst - BETTER framework B for Business Knowledge E for Examining user needs T for Thinking about analysis T for Tools of Trade ie Excel E for Expression R for Refining yourself Conclusions The post CP006: How to be a better analyst? – Road map for getting better at Data Analysis & Improving your career prospects appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 5th session of Chandoo.org podcast, we are going to demystify form controls. I am very happy and excited to interview my good friend, fellow Excel MVP, author, blogger and virtual mentor - Debra Dalgleish about this topic. In this podcast, you will learn, What are form controls When you would use them? Example form control - Combo box How form controls differ from active-x controls How to enable form controls in your Excel? Various important form controls Special bonus & how to obtain it The post CP005: Introduction to Form Controls – an interview with Debra Dalgleish appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the 4th session of Chandoo.org podcast, lets talk about Pie charts. Pie charts evoke strong opinions among analysts & managers. Some people love them and can't have enough of them in reports. Others despise them and go to any lengths to avoid them. And that is why we are going to talk about them in this session. You will learn, Special, secret transmission from guest stars What is a pie chart? Why they work? 2 reasons Why they don't work ? 4 reasons Cousins & siblings of Pie charts Donut charts Gauge charts (speedometer) 3D pies Area charts Bubble charts 4 Situations when making a pie chart is ok Alternatives to Pie charts Mistakes you should avoid About the resources Conclusions The post CP004: Can I Pie Chart in Public? Discussion about Pie charts, their merits and drawbacks, when to use & when to avoid them appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the third session of Chandoo.org podcast, we are going to get BI curious. ;) Not that kind you silly, We are talking about Business Intelligence, Big Data, Power Pivot & other Power BI family members. In this session, I am happy to feature Mike Alexander - Microsoft MVP, Author, Blogger & a good friend. Mike talks about how Excel is shaping the BI (Business Intelligence) revolution with advent of Power BI functionality. You will learn, Introduction, what Mike is up to these days? What is BI, what does it mean to an average Excel analyst? What BI capabilities Excel has - brief intro to each of them Power Pivot & what it does Power Query & why it is important Power View & how it works (and where it sucks) Power Maps How to learn about these new technologies Recommended Books Websites Courses Live classes Special gift for our listeners The post CP003: Business Intelligence for Masses – Interview with Mike Alexander appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

In the second session of Chandoo.org Podcast, We will be learning how to use 5 Excel lookup functions. What is in this session? In this session, we tackle one of the most important areas of Excel. The lookup functions. You will learn, Why lookup functions are necessary 5 Important lookup functions in Excel - VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, LOOKUP, MATCH & INDEX When & how to use each of these 5 functions? Extreme scenarios: What happens when the value you are looking up is not there? What if too many items match the lookup value? What if you have too many conditions in the lookup criteria? Using IFERROR function Re-cap of the new powers you acquired 4 Resources for you to learn lookup functions better The post CP002: VTALKUP – 5 Excel lookup functions demystified + 4 Resources for you appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

Chandoo.org Podcast is here.... Friends, fans & supporters of Chandoo.org, I am so happy to add another dimension to our website. Chandoo.org podcast is finally here. You can listen to the inaugural episode by using the audio player above. The post CP 001: Chandoo.org Podcast First Episode – Introduction, What to expect, Show formalities & Special gift appeared first on Chandoo.org - Learn Excel, Power BI & Charting Online.

When Vizag, India-based Purna Duggirala's twins were born, he decided he wanted to spend more time at home. His full-time corporate gig entailed too much travel, which he wasn't fond of. So a few months later, he quit and decided to work full time on his blog/side gig, chandoo.org. From a mere $10,000/year in 2009, the business generated approximately $600,000 in 2012. In this case study, you will learn: From personal blog to side business to full time business – the Chandoo.org story: the ups, downs and everything in between How Purna smoothly transitioned from working a full time job to running a full time business The best way to know which products to create (even if you have no ideas) The key factor involved in increasing his business' revenues by 400% from 2010 to 2011 The various challenges that cropped up in the early days, and how he dealt with them 3 wise actions you can take to start and own your freedom business